The exhibition Facing Colonial Legacy in the Museum aims to promote critical reflection on the history and contexts of acquisition of the ethnographic collections of the Santos Rocha Municipal Museum, especially those from Angola and Timor, donated in the early 20th century by the military officer João Jardim. Highlighting the contexts of violence and coercion associated with their formation, the initiative challenges the public to rethink the role of museums in the preservation and interpretation of colonial history and to actively participate in the construction of new readings of heritage.

The exhibition challenges traditional museography, based on a Western, evolutionist, and racialized view, and proposes new, more inclusive, and collaborative interpretations through public engagement. This amplifies the museum’s mission, which is no longer just a space for conservation and exhibition but also a forum for debate, sharing perspectives, and critically reviewing historical narratives.

The exhibition was inaugurated as part of the international conference “Decolonizing museums and colonial collections: towards a transdisciplinary agenda and methods,” bringing together national and international experts who actively collaborated on this collaborative exhibition.

Photography Gustavo Brody